The Korea Times
Korea is betting on artificial intelligence (AI) to solve its productivity problem, but it is more likely to make the problem worse. The country’s AI push is undeniably ambitious and well-funded, with the government aiming to rank among the world’s top three AI powers. Major firms like Samsung, SK Hynix and Kakao are investing aggressively, and enterprise adoption already exceeds 25 percent, placing Korea among global leaders. However, none of this addresses the core issue: Korea’s productivity problem is structural rather than technological. Measured as GDP per hour worked, Korea remains in the lower third of OECD economies at roughly $44 per hour. This gap has persisted despite world-class R&D investment, the highest robot density in the OECD and one of the most highly educated workforces in the world. The explanation lies in how productivity is distributed. Korea’s headline productivity figure reflects two fundamentally different economies operating in parallel. At the top are globally competitive conglomerates that are capital-intensive, technologically advanced and already
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